i thought putting heels on yuriy again was rather cruel. after everything those shoes cost...

I agree

Adam is smart. He will never throw sway those shoes because it will always remind Yuriy of his place. For as long as Yuriy thinks he is dirty and worthless, Yuriy will believe that only Adam will only love him (and even then, Yuriy feels guilty that Adam should love such a debased creature).

It is also a reminder of how successful they used to be and a silent way of Adam to blame Yuriy not only for Adam's injury but also for his no longer a A Class designer.

The more Adam is able to reinforce how utterly indebted and worthless Yuriy is, the more Yuriy will stay with him. He is a master manipulator, this Adam.

And Yuriy is suffering from Stockholm syndrome + Survivor's Guilt, which is Everyday being reinforced like a litany by Adam through both deeds and words.

I got the impression wearing them was Yuriy's idea...

Good explanation, tho I think there is some misunderstanding going on here. Adam was not the one who wants to keep the shoes, it's Yuriy. Yuriy is the one deciding to keep those heels.
Remember when Adam said " My poor Yuriy, he can no longer be satisfied with normal pleasure" and "you are saying that but you are more aroused than usual" ? They are pretty obvious hints that those red heels turn Yuriy on, making his body more sensitive and raising his sexual desire.
Although Yuriy mayy have Stockholm, but it was never Adam's intention to begin with. He never said anything about Yuriy being worthless and dirty. In page 9, he even said "..you are the most beautiful thing in the world".
.
But I do believe Adam should have at least told Yuriy it was not his fault and he was not dirty. At least he should do that :/

This is what I meant by Adam being passively aggressively keeping Yuriy "tied" to him.
1. Yuriy wanted to keep the shoes, Adam makes no move to dissuade him relaizing that it is a convenient way to keep Yuriy with him. He could've thrown it away, or say "why keep
something that reminds us of the past, we are moving forward" etc

2. Yuriy say he is dirty, Adam says you are beautiful but he stops short at No You are Not Dirty None of those things are your fault. So Adam is responding to Statement A with a Unrelated NonStatement, that does not really address the main issue. This is called "deliberately missing the point"

It's like when a wife asked the husband "What do you think of this dress". husband: "well you look pretty anyway" Sounds okay on the surface but he's actually dodging

Yuriy has issues, but Adam deliberately does not address them conveniently exacerbating and enabling Yuriy to reinforce his inferiority complex, stockholm syndrome and survivor's guilt.

Exactly. Just like any abuser "you did this to yourself", "you want't this", "look what you've made me do"

"he can easily leave if he wants to..."

all textbook mindfuck abuser

WTF?
Why does it have to be about abuse or a mind fuck?
Can't Yuriy just enjoy wearing them during sex?
What makes you think it has to be a power trip?
Adam clearly cares about Yuriy. Actually, he seems to be the only person who truly did.
The fact that Yuriy wears heels during sex doesn't have to be about degradation or domination, so why are you jumping all over me like I'm victim blaming?

I don't even see Yuriy as a victim in the relationship because they seem to be in a healthy loving relationship, which means neither one is a victim.

Adam doesn't need to "tied" Yuriy to him. In the beginning, Yuriy has already loved him so much and even sacrificed his body and soul for the sake of Adam's career and Albakin. Adam didn't do anything to tie Yuriy down at first, when there are so many choices of men for him. So why does he have to do it now? When they are living in such a peaceful and serene place? It wouldn't make much sense that way.
It would make sense if they are living in the city and working as waitors or bartenders for a club,, but they don't.Sorry but I think you are over-analyzing the plot.

Ahem. Yuri has issues since the very beginning of the manga. Not everyone wants to be saved. I for one wants the life Yuri has. Degraded, sold out to the highest bidder, I got really turned on by that. I wish I have an Adam in my life to sell me out and then make sweet love to my filthy body in the end.

Not everyone needs an SJW to save them, Tyvm. If you're ticked off by this story, then I think Ogawa Chise or Harada is not your mangaka. Next time, stay away from their mangas and you'll be okay. Ciao!

I think the major flaw in the argument is the assumption of motive, for which there is little evidence.

Your point 1 would be valid if there was evidence that Adam's motive was to control Yuriy and prevent him from leaving, but it could just as well be enabling due to guilt. The way it's presented in Ch.4, Adam wants to "lift he cures [he] cast on [Yuriy], goes after Yuriy and sacrifices himself to release Yuriy from a life of selling himself and body mutilation via shoes. Keeping the shoes isn't healthy, but there's just as much reason to think that Adam doesn't dissuade Yuriy because he thinks that if Yuriy wants to keep them, then he owes it to Yuriy to let him do what he wants. Now that's not healthy either, but the motive isn't negative.

Point 2 could be valid, but assumes the motive is to dodge the question and also assumes that Yuriy had absolutely no agency in the situation (which is itself debatable, and may be bored enough right now to argue pointlessly on the internet, but not THAT bored).

So, like I said, Adam does seem to be enabling him at least to some extent, but I don't think that there is enough evidence presented by the author to show that the relationship dynamics are too complicated to simply say that Adam is an enabler because of his desire to control. Also, Yuriy doesn't have Stockholm syndrome. That would mean that Adam was his captor and that Yuriy developed his feelings for Adam to cope with the treatment he was receiving, but Yuriy developed his feelings prior to forming their relationship. And if you're going to argue Stockholm syndrome for Yuriy, wouldn't you also have to acknowledge that Adam developed Lima syndrome in return?
Peace ! ^_^

I am saving this thread. The analyses is damn on point. Nice argument. I guess what the last chapter is saying is that such sex life exist. It is not definitely normal and it doesn't look healthy but it is for them. They have their own standards and no other people can tell them that it's wrong because they are happy doing what they wanna do and they are not harming/involving other people outside their kink. Kinda like BDSM, especially the extreme ones. Their kink is completely CONSENSUAL.

hey guys, thank you for the nice, clean debate. anyway, my comment is was purely opinion and i wasn't really looking too deep into any aspects of their sex life. now, regarding actual events in the story, having yuriy wear heels again is certainly not the healthiest, or kindest form of affection(?), but it is depicted as a consensual act between them, and that OK. and like the person above mentions, they aren't involving anyone other than themselves. the heels make it so yuriy will never forget his past mistakes and the fact that he unintentionally hurt adam, while adam himself seems to enjoy reminding him of those things. to adam, yuriy will always be the yuriy who wears heels. when he threatened to tell emma about the past, it was to work up yuriy. he himself explicitly states that he would be the only person to see yuriy debauched and in heels again. it can be seen as cruel, but no one here believes their relationship is the epitome of healthy.

The thing is with my favorite mangakas is that they make use of VISUAL CUES properly to use minimal words as possible. The downside to this is that readers may have different interpretation from what the author would want to convey.

"Adam seems to enjoys reminding him of those things" - to me sounds off since in this page: http://www.mangago.me/read-manga/red_theatre/uu/tr_chapter-6/pg-8/
Notice Adam's expression as he rams into Yuriy after he says that he is shameful and dirty, I interpret that he tries his best to satisfy Yuriy's sexual needs despite being a handicap, knowing that it was all his fault, thus he is actually taking responsibility of his actions. Fulfilling Yuriy's sexual desires is also in a way reinforcing what he says that Yuriy is beautiful, without negating Yuriy's negativeness through words. Also, as evidence, Adam has recognized what he has done wrong and let Yuriy free from the industry in exchange for his fame and arm, in the previous chapters.

"Threatened to tell Emma" - I believe that's just to tease Yuriy since Adam finds Yuriy cute when upset, which to me is simply normal conversation. If he truly "threatened" Yuriy and he truly wanted Emma to know or simply he doesn't care about the kid finding out about the shoes, he wouldn't be upset or flustered when Emma asked about the shoes, but he was. Meaning he truly cared and Ogawa showed that through images, not words.

"when he threatened to tell emma about the past, it was [only] to work up [get him flustered] yuriy."

also, i do believe adam does indeed like the aspect of control he has over yuriy, but i agree that he probably feels guilt by the way that he has to be the one to remind yuriy (and be reminded himself) to bring him pleasure.

I guess I was ticked off with the word "threatened" because it wasn't serious at all.

They've made a "healthy" set up for themselves, I mean when you compare it from their previous situation. To me, of course my concern is always with Yuriy and I guess what he always wanted was Adam's full attention to him, which Yuriy now has and that's what makes him happy, so I'm happy for them.

yeah i mean, as of the story yuriy is now at the highest point in his life and he deserves the happiness he has found. and i understand that what they have is effective, so we can only hope that the calm [before the storm lol] they have found works for them for the rest of their lives together.

To me the only thing that can destroy their happiness is if someone from the fashion or shoe industry tries to pull them back in and revive that hell they were in before. If anyone finds out about their kink or when Emma finally figures it all out, it won't matter, they've been through worse. So, sorry but I really couldn't understand that "storm" you are insinuating.
I see their kink will either die with them or they grow out of it, but nonetheless they did it because that's what they are comfortable with, what their bodies and minds crave for or feeds on, what keeps them sane and most importantly, what makes them happy.

it was a joke, friend. anyway, yuriy has always been his own worse enemy, so even if the kink eventually does him more harm than good, adam will be there to break his fall, and perhaps vice versa. and this is what i've been getting at. they've both seen the other at their worst and they understand each other's boundaries. so, while i stand by my opinion on the act being somewhat cruel, in the end, their definition of happiness is their own brand. it may not be completely healthy on a larger scale, but this, above all else, is fiction, and a beautiful, tragic, nitty gritty, 5 (in my opinion) star story. i'm reminded of a line from hakespeare's sonnet No Fear, but the whole thing is spot on.

My love is as a fever,
longing still
For that which longer
nurseth the disease

Exactly.

No one is saying they do. So I don't know why people say it's the 'SJW's' that overreact.